Lynn Boone, April Herring, and Tamara DeBerry have been selected 2012-2013 Outstanding Staff at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA). Boone, the top nominee, will be honored as PCCUA’s outstanding staff member during the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC) fall conference.

Boone, who retired in July as vice chancellor for student services/registrar at PCCUA-Helena-W. Helena, completed 38 years of service. He joined Phillips College in 1975 as a psychology instructor. Prior to being named vice chancellor, Boone also served as director of intramural services, associate dean of student services, and dean of student services.

Within the college, he was involved in numerous student/college initiatives, including Foundations of Excellence, Achieving the Dream, Talent Search, Upward Bound and Student Support Services, serving in a supervisory capacity, as an academic advisor and a motivational speaker. In the community, Boone has served on the Phillips County Single Parent Scholarship Board and Mid-Delta’s Community Consortium Board. Additionally, he has served as superintendent of the First Baptist Church School, where he participated in after-school tutoring sessions.

Boone earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Hendrix College in Conway, and a Master of Arts in College Teaching and Specialist in College Teaching from Murray State University, in Murray, Ky., and completed additional graduate work at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Herring, of Almyra, is an administrative assistant on the Stuttgart Campus to Vice Chancellor Susan Luebke, serving in that capacity since 2011. Already familiar with PCCUA, she worked on the DeWitt Campus from 2001-2004 in various positions, first as a work-study student then advancing from part-time to full-time employment. In her current position, Herring assists Luebke in day-to-day operations of the campus. Among her primary responsibilities are purchasing for the Career and Technical Centers on all three PCCUA campuses and booking meetings in the Administrative Conference Room in Stuttgart. Additionally, she serves as a Student Success II instructor and proctors classes when needed.

“PCCUA is where I belong,” she said. “Not many people can say they are satisfied with their job or career choice, but I am one of the lucky ones, because I can,” Herring stated. “We have an amazing group of students who all seem to have a common goal to succeed. I consider myself blessed to know that even if it is only by giving an encouraging smile or saying hello in the hallway, I get to be a part of their success.”

Actively involved in campus issues, she serves as a member of the Student Success, Student Activities and Special Events teams. Herring holds an A.A. in General Education and an A.A.S. in Business Management from PCCUA and a B.S. in Education from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

DeBerry, of DeWitt, has served as an Administrative Specialist on the DeWitt Campus since 2008.

Page 2 of 2 - Among her responsibilities are maintaining records, ordering and receiving, organizing projects for various departments and managing databases. Her work also involves maintaining all enrollment, registration, and budget spreadsheets. Raising money to fund new academic scholarships, DeBerry is also involved with the work of the Foundation and serves as Facebook administrator for the DeWitt Campus.

“I love, love my job!” she noted. “All of the employees on the DeWitt Campus are more than willing to help anyone with whatever need they may have! I consider my co-workers family; they are much more than just the people I spend my days with!”